War Poetry Collection

The War Poetry collection aims to become the largest digital library of war poetry, drawing on voices from across history, cultures, and backgrounds to capture the full scope of the human experience of war.

130+

Poets

1400+

Poems

And growing…

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Updates

William Gilmore Simms – War Poetry of the South

War Poetry of the South reads less like a neutral collection and more like something shaped with a clear purpose. It was assembled after the Civil War had already ended, using poems gathered during the conflict and in its immediate aftermath, and that timing matters. The war is over, the outcome is settled, but the…

Herman Melville – Battle Pieces

Herman Melville’s Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War is one of those collections that sits in a strange place: familiar in tone to anyone who has read Civil War history, but also deeply personal and unsettled in ways that historians often smooth over. What makes this book important isn’t just that Melville wrote poetry about…

Henry Timrod – Poet of the Confederacy

I’m pleased to announce that we’ve added a significant—and often overlooked—voice of the American Civil War era to our collection: Henry Timrod and, in particular, his war-time poetry. The volume we’re drawing from is Poems of Henry Timrod; with Memoir. What I want to do here is walk through why this addition feels valuable—what Timrod does…


Poetry Review

10 Poems for a Laugh

The poetry of the First World War is often associated with grim depictions of suffering, loss, and the futility of war. However, woven through the bleakness is another kind of verse—humorous, sardonic, and sometimes absurd.

7 Poems for Brother’s Lost

Asleep within the deadest hour of night And, turning with the earth, I was aware How suddenly the eastern curve was bright,

Our collection is growing

If you have any recommendations for additions to this collection, let us know.